’Good job’
’Good job’
Three cheers for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. We have a national representative who thinks for herself and considers her constituents — not voting the party line. We need more politicians like that.
Good job Rep. Gabbard.
Bob Dukat
Pahoa
Gabbard got it right
I take issue with Ruth E. Robison’s letter in the Nov. 24 issue of the Tribune-Herald. I am not a full-time supporter of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. However, in this case, I am.
It is not us, the people of this country, who are the fear-mongers, but radical Islam. Were it not for them, the “restrictions” placed on the transient Syrians would not be needed. THEY have made it harder for their own people. THEY do not have a right to be here. They are NOT citizens of this country, so they don’t have our privileges.
If they want to come here, they have to obey the laws. Plain and simple.
Thomas Jelf
Pahoa
Lawmakers to blame
Our legislators are yelling at the Department of Health about dengue. Wow. The Legislature has butchered the DOH budget for years. … See through their smoke. the Legislature is our problem.
Tom Hughes
Hilo
Empower the people
Dr. Virginia Pressler, state Health Director, was quoted in a Thanksgiving Day news article, saying that at 107 confirmed cases, “the level of alarm is a little higher than it needs to be.”
After weeks of meeting the public at dengue information meetings around Hawaii Island and hearing people’s concerns, it is apparent that her slow, low-key handling of this outbreak has not improved. Printing posters and flyers with the state’s $75,000 emergency appropriation is just one way to get information to the public, assuming people manage to find those posters and flyers.
This is a health emergency. Dengue fever can be especially dangerous to pregnant women and their fetus, to young children, and to those with some other health conditions. It saps the mental fortitude of those individuals who live in mosquito-prone areas and taking strong precautions, as the number of cases grows.
A public service announcement program on all radio stations, intended to saturate all communities, can be effective in letting people know the symptoms of dengue fever, how to get tested if there is no insurance or money to pay for tests, quarantine requirements, why bed rest after the fever passes is critical to prevent complications, and how long an infected person can pass on the virus to a mosquito.
Dr. Pressler needs to understand that small bits of correct information broadcast repeatedly on the airwaves in an intensified public relations campaign would empower people to participate in the containment of this outbreak.
Merle Hayward
Hilo, Hawaii 96720